God is With Us in the Fire

What a surreal time we are in right now! It feels like a scene from “The Twilight Zone” or a Steven King novel. My generation has never seen anything like this!

Who would think that a single virus could shut down entire nations? History has said similar things have happened, but to experience it first hand is mind-boggling!

This virus has totally disrupted life as we knew it. We are now overseeing our children’s education from home. Lots of small businesses have had to close and let go of employees. Not to mention the difficulty of doing small daily tasks that we take for granted, such as going to the grocery store to buy bread, meat, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer.

Tough times we are in. No doubt about it. We are in the fire.

But take heart! We have hope. We are not in this fire alone. God is in the fire with us.

Recently, I was reading the story of the Hebrew boys and the fiery furnace found in Daniel 3:1-30. Because Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego would not bow down to the idol that King Nebuchadnezzar built, they were thrown into the fiery furnace.

These young men knew that there would be consequences to their decision to remain faithful to God and not bow down to this idol. However, they decided to trust the same God that had kept them safe and given them favor time and time again.

They had no idea what the outcome would be when they decided to not follow the king’s order to worship this false god. But, they were confident in God’s sovereignty and His ability to protect and deliver them. They were not swayed by the King’s haughty threats. Rather, they trusted in the God that they had been serving since birth.

Later in the story, we see that these boys were in fact thrown in the fiery furnace. This furnace was so hot that the flames killed the soldiers that took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up to the furnace. The young men fell in. But when the king looked in the furnace, instead of 3 men, he saw 4 men. They were walking around unbound and unharmed. Some say it was an angel. Some say it was Jesus himself. One thing is clear: God sent His protection. He was with them in the fire.

When King Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to come out of the fire and saw that not even a hair on their head was burned and they didn’t even SMELL like smoak, he praised the Most High God and said no other god can save as He can.

I pondered this passage and it made me ask myself, what is my stance during this unique time in history? Am I bowing down to the god of panic and despair? Or, am I continuing to have my hope in the blood of Jesus to cover, protect, and deliver me and my loved ones?

Will my profession of faith draw others to the Most High God? Or, am I promoting fear and despair, and allowing panic and uncertainty to cause me to waiver in my faith?

A lot of people may not agree that God has allowed this pandemic to draw His people’s trust back to Him. However, our trust in Him is all we have right now. And trust in Him is all we have ever needed! We can wash our hands, wear all the masks, and sanitize until our hands are cracked and bleeding. But, only the Blood of Jesus can save and sustain us.

God has promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us! We are in a fire, but we are not in the fire alone. God is with us as He has always been.

Let this be your profession today! God is with us as we navigate distance learning with our children and work from home.

God is with us as we go out and work to serve the community if that is what we are charged to do!

God is with us as we continue to encourage our children and speak hope, faith, and courage into their lives!

God is with us as we are uncertain about our financial future! None of this has taken Him by surprise. He has promised to provide for us and His track record is impeccable!

God is with teachers as they work tirelessly to assure that they are still providing the best education possible for their students given the circumstances, and showing them love even from a distance. We know the teachers miss their students, and the students miss their teachers!

God is with us as we long to be with family, church family, and friends! He knows that as people we desire fellowship. During this time, He desires fellowship with us. Fill that desire with His presence.

Let’s take this time to really seek the face of God. Let’s lend our heart to peace, joy, and courage.

God is truly with us. We are in His hands.